Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has introduced the Holy scripture of Hinduism, Ramayana, and Mahabharata, in the national school curriculum.
The development is part of the modernization plan Vision 2030 of Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman. According to the details, the objective is to offer students more knowledge about different cultures. Hence, students will be taught Ramayana and Mahabharata.
Yoga and Ayurveda, the globally significant Indian cultural practices will also be a part of the school curriculum as part of the exposure of students to other cultural practices. The English language has also become mandatory in schools under Vision 2030.
A Saudi yogi, Nouf Almarwaai, posted the screenshots of the social studies exam undertaken by her son. The exam paper had questions about Hinduism, Buddhism, and Hindu epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata.
Saudi Arabia’s new #vision2030 & curriculum will help to create coexistent,moderate & tolerant generation. Screenshots of my sons school exam today in Social Studies included concepts & history of Hinduism,Buddhism,Ramayana, Karma, Mahabharata &Dharma. I enjoyed helping him study pic.twitter.com/w9c8WYstt9
— Nouf Almarwaai (@NoufMarwaai) April 15, 2021
“Saudi Arabia’s new #vision2030 & curriculum will help to create coexistent, moderate & tolerant generation. Screenshots of my son’s school exam today in Social Studies included concepts & history of Hinduism, Buddhism, Ramayana, Karma, Mahabharata &Dharma. I enjoyed helping him study,” said Nouf Almarwaai in her tweet.
Read more: In Pictures: First Female Saudi Umrah, Hajj guards serve at Grand Mosque
Saudi Arabia from being an orthodox, conservative society is swiftly moving towards liberalization and modernization, opening up society to cultural changes that were once demeaned and condemned.
Last week, the Saudi Interior Ministry had published the photos of female Umrah and Hajj guards serving at the Grand Mosque in Makkah, in a historic move.
The pictures show the women security guards on duty for the first time in the Grand Mosque. The pictures show women security guards dressed up in uniform providing security to staff and pilgrims. Taking to Twitter, the ministry captioned the post: “From the field, security of Hajj and Umrah.”
Read more: Saudi Arabia: The journey from ultra-conservatism to ultra-modernism
Pictures gained massive traction on social media with people praising the Saudi government for accommodating women security guards at the holy mosque.
The move came as part of the grand reforms by the Saudi government to address the gender inequality in the country.